Thanks to Oregon State University’s Water Resource Engineering department for hosting the film in conjunction with a fascinating discussion about water rights and solutions. We talked about water conflict resolution with Aaron Wolf, recent Heinz Award recipient and one of the world leaders in water conflict solutions (Australia, Israel and Singapore are the shining examples of water allocation success). We talked about Big Data and its place in water resource engineering (a seat at the table, alongside social, political, narrative influences). And we talked about the overall importance of science, especially as funding is cut and an opposition voice has arisen determined to undermine science’s credibility for establishing policy and regulation. Apparently, the film proved to be a great tool for bringing science (or the essence of science) out into the public realm.

I love scientists. Especially really really smart ones who don’t take themselves too seriously and who conduct their rigorous research in a broad-view, process-oriented manner.